Save the Bay’s Rhode Island Coastal Cleanup is slated for Sept. 16

Save the Bay’s Rhode Island Coastal Cleanup is slated for Sept. 16

Mildred Ruiz and Nathaniel Burge, 14, both of Westerly, help with last year's Save the Bay Coastal Cleanup at the Charlestown Town Beach. Sun file photo

September 01, 2017 12:00AM

By Cynthia DrummondSun staff writer

Save the Bay is coordinating the Rhode Island component of this year’s International Coastal Cleanup, which takes place on Sept. 16. Last year, more than 800,000 volunteers around the world, including 2,000 in Rhode Island, removed trash from shorelines. Save the Bay Volunteer Manager July Lewis said turnout has been strong in Westerly and Charlestown in the four years her organization has managed the event, and she was confident it would be again this year.

“They love to volunteer on the beautiful beaches of South County,” she said. “We’ve had some great teams.”

Tens of thousands of discarded items are removed from the shoreline every year. In 2016, in South County, 237 volunteers picked up 1,073 pounds of trash.

Cleanups took place at:

Sandy Point

Misquamicut

Napatree Point

Weekapaug Breachway

West Beach Road to Weekapaug Breachway

Fenway Beach

Charlestown Breachway

Blue Shutters

East Beach

Common trash in 2016; the first figure is for South County, the second, for R.I. as a whole.

Cigarette butts: 8,850 46,574

Plastic pieces: 2,148 13,475

Food wrappers: 966 10,583

Bottle caps, plastic: 959 7,968

Plastic drink bottles: 371 7,412

Plastic straws: 747 4,722

Plastic grocery bags: 118 2,282

Beverage cans: 368 4,446

Cigar tips: 293 1,114

Balloons: 117 649

The cleanup will take place rain or shine. Volunteers are asked to wear clothes they don’t mind getting dirty and to bring their own work gloves if possible. People wishing to participate are asked to sign up at: http://volunteer.savebay.org/international-coastal-cleanup/